ATHENS: A wildfire intensified overnight and swept along forests north of Athens for a second day on Tuesday, authorities said, as fire fighters managed to contain other blazes southeast and west of the Greek capital.
A blaze raged uncontrolled and burned forest in the area of Dervenochoria about 30 km north of Athens, a fire service official said on Tuesday. The fire threatened a pig farm, according to Greek media.
Another fire weakened on Tuesday, having first broke out on Monday in the village of Kouvaras, about 27 kilometers southeast of the Greek capital. Fanned by shifting winds, that fire had quickly spread to the coastal towns of Anavyssos, Lagonisi and Saronida, forcing people to flee their homes.
However, 230 firefighters assisted by 76 fire engines and five helicopters were still operating at different spots in the area, a Greek fire service official said on Tuesday.
“Civil protection forces gave an all-night fight,” Ioannis Artopoios, a Greek Fire Service spokesman, said in a televised briefing, adding that crews have been replaced to tame the fire on multiple fronts.
A mayor told Greek television that more than 7,000 acres of land was reduced to ashes along a coast, where many Athenians have holiday homes.
A thick layer of white smoke was visible from Athens as a third blaze burned near the seaside resort of Loutraki, about 80 km west of the capital.
The Greek meteorological service has warned of a high risk of fire this week, just as the country is recovering from the first major heatwave of the summer. A second heatwave is forecast for later this week.
Greece still has memories of a wildfire disaster in 2018, when a blaze killed 101 people in the seaside town of Mati, east of Athens.
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Wildfire burns forests north of Athens, fires weaken in southeast and west
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Wildfire burns forests north of Athens, fires weaken in southeast and west
- A blaze raged uncontrolled and burned forest in the area of Dervenochoria about 30 km north of Athens, a fire service official said on Tuesday
Germany closer to US than China despite recent tensions, foreign minister says
- Germany is “not in equidistance” from the United States and China, and will always be closer to Washington despite recent tensions, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said
SINGAPORE: Germany is “not in equidistance” from the United States and China, and will always be closer to Washington despite recent tensions, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said in Singapore on Monday. At a lecture hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Wadephul said the United States remains the most important partner for Europe and Germany and that Europe remains dependent on it for its security, despite issues that are currently “alienating” Washington from the region. Trump administration officials have been critical of European countries for failing to meet NATO spending targets and for being too dependent on the United States for their own defense.
“Running with open arms to President Xi and saying all our problems vanished in this very moment and we are only heading to become your big partner, this would be the wrong answer,” he said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Western nations, such as Canada and the United Kingdom have been striking trade deals with China, defying US criticism.
Trump’s insistence that Washington should take control over Greenland has shaken transatlantic relations and accelerated European efforts to reduce its dependence on the United States, even as Trump last week withdrew his threat to impose additional tariffs and ruled out taking Greenland by force.
But Wadephul said Europe’s united response to US claims on Greenland shows that it can be successful at defending its interests as long as it defines its red lines clearly.
Wadephul also said that the European Union’s network of free trade agreements is an “important building block for rules-based free trade in times of increased protectionism and fragmentation.” The European Union is working to “swiftly conclude” more free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, including with Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia, he said.
“Running with open arms to President Xi and saying all our problems vanished in this very moment and we are only heading to become your big partner, this would be the wrong answer,” he said, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. Western nations, such as Canada and the United Kingdom have been striking trade deals with China, defying US criticism.
Trump’s insistence that Washington should take control over Greenland has shaken transatlantic relations and accelerated European efforts to reduce its dependence on the United States, even as Trump last week withdrew his threat to impose additional tariffs and ruled out taking Greenland by force.
But Wadephul said Europe’s united response to US claims on Greenland shows that it can be successful at defending its interests as long as it defines its red lines clearly.
Wadephul also said that the European Union’s network of free trade agreements is an “important building block for rules-based free trade in times of increased protectionism and fragmentation.” The European Union is working to “swiftly conclude” more free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region, including with Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Australia, he said.
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